THE MAN WHO SAVED DUCKS!
by
Budd Titlow
Text excerpted from book:?“PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change” written by Budd Titlow and Mariah Tinger and published by Prometheus Books. Photo credit:?Copyright Shutterstock(2).
Our next?Past Environmental Hero?had the best name in the history of the?US Environmental Movement?and—like Roger Tory Peterson— also used his creative artistic ability in a very special way.??But this time, the craftsmanship was combined with offbeat humor—instead of birding field marks—to get the public’s attention and build a consensus of support.??Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling combined an artist’s eye with a humorist’s ear and—or 50 years—produced prize-winning political cartoons that bemused the American public while galvanizing their support for landmark conservation initiatives.
Born in Norwood, Michigan in 1876, Darling always considered himself an Iowan—even though his middle name derived from his place of birth.??When he moved with his parents to Sioux City, Iowa in 1886, he reveled in getting out and exploring the “edge of the American frontier”.??Gallivanting about through unspoiled prairie teeming with seemingly limitless wildlife gave Darling a life-long passion for protecting nature's bounty.
An affable and energetic man with a penchant for a bow tie and a strong resemblance to long-time news anchor Walter Cronkite—“the most trusted man in America”, Darling began his political cartooning career in 1900 with the Sioux City Journal. After joining the Des Moines Register in 1906, he began signing his cartoons with his nickname "Ding", a pseudonym he came up with in college by combining the first initial of his last name with the last three letters.??By 1917, his work was syndicated across the country through the?New York Herald Tribune.?
Appearing in 130 daily newspapers, Darling’s witty and insightful drawings entertained an audience of millions. Awarded Pulitzer Prizes in 1923 and 1942,?Darling specialized in using his satirical pen to promote issues of conservation and bring national attention to environmental concerns.?
While he always claimed that he was a conservationist as?“only a hobby”,?Darling’s monumental accomplishments in the conservation arena?belie that statement.?In 1934,?as Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey—predecessor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service—he dramatically cut waterfowl bag limits and seasons to bolster dwindling waterfowl populations.??This action earned him his life-long reputation as?“the man who saved ducks”.?
Always an articulate speaker and tireless activist, Darling convinced President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to call the first North American Wildlife Conference in 1936—a landmark meeting that emphasized the need to have a permanent organization espousing protection of wildlife and wild places throughout the US.??Out of this conservation confab, the General Wildlife Federation (GWF)—forerunner of today’s esteemed National Wildlife Federation—was born.??The GWF—with Darling as its first president—provided a long-term public platform for taking care of one of Darling’s life concerns, the uncontrolled exploitation of wildlife.?
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Darling solved his other primary concern—wanton destruction of key waterfowl habitat—by initiating the Federal Duck Stamp Program.??Proceeds from the sale of duck hunting stamps—the first of which Darling drew himself—went into a fund set aside specifically for purchasing wetlands to preserve waterfowl nesting and migratory habitat.?
Darling was also—in large part—responsible for establishing the network of National Wildlife Refuges that now lace across our country in all directions.?The Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (also known as the “Pittman-Robertson Act”)—which provides money to states for the purchase of game habitat and helps fund wildlife research through a tax on sporting firearms and ammunition—also owes its existence to Darling’s work.
For many years of his life, Darling owned a winter home on Captiva Island in South Florida. Thanks to the efforts of many of his island neighbors and the J.N. "Ding" Darling Foundation, the adjacent Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge—which had dutifully protected wildlife habitat since 1948—was renamed the J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and officially dedicated to him in 1978.??Today, “The Ding” is a mecca for both birdwatchers and photographers living throughout South Florida and around the world.?
For many years starting in the winter of 1995, I often enjoyed the distinct avian pleasure of visiting “The Ding”. Every morning just before sunrise,?serious photographers armed with telephoto lenses the size of bazookas and life birders toting their Swarovski binoculars line up to be the first to see what new birds have arrived on the refuge overnight.??What many of them may not realize is that the refuge’s namesake is the primary reason the birds are there in the first place!
“Land, water and vegetation … Without these three primary elements in natural balance, we can have neither fish nor game, wildflowers nor trees, labor nor capital, nor sustaining habitat for humans.”?
– Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling?
Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling used his cartoonist fame as a springboard to create two American wildlife management institutions—the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wildlife Federation.??But, more importantly, he also found creative ways to finance his two favorite conservation causes—wildlife research and waterfowl management. Fees collected from the very people that participated in—and therefore benefited from—sport hunting were used to purchase habitat and protect nesting areas. The same fund-raising approach could be used in combating?Climate Change.??Fossil fuel consumers could be charged a?user fee?and then the collected money—no doubt in the billions of dollars—could be applied to research facilities for renewable energy power generation and distribution.
Author’s footnote:?As I suspect you know, both Sanibel Island and Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge took a direct hit from Category 4 Hurricane Ian on September 28, 2022. While the full extent of the damage to the “Ding’s” wildlife habitats may not be known for years, I’m sure hoping the refuge recovers to again become one of the best places in the world to watch and photograph wild birds.
Author’s bio:??For the past 50 years, professional ecologist and conservationist Budd Titlow has used his pen and camera to capture the awe and wonders of our natural world. His goal has always been to inspire others to both appreciate and enjoy what he sees.?Now he has one main question: Can we save humankind’s place — within nature’s beauty — before it’s too late??Budd’s two latest books are dedicated to answering this perplexing dilemma. “PROTECTING THE PLANET: Environmental Champions from Conservation to Climate Change”, a non-fiction book, examines whether we still have the environmental heroes among us — harking back to such past heroes as Audubon, Hemenway, Muir, Douglas, Leopold, Brower, Carson, and Meadows — needed to accomplish this goal. Next, using fact-filled and entertaining story-telling, his latest book — “COMING FULL CIRCLE: A Sweeping Saga of Conservation Stewardship Across America”?— provides the answers we all seek and need.?Having published five books, more than 500 photo-essays, and 5,000 photographs, Budd Titlow lives with his music educator wife, Debby, in San Diego, California.???